Container and closure means therefor



March 14, 1950 c. H. KOEPPEL 2,500,363

CONTAINER AND cLosURE MEANS THEREFOR Filed March 11, 1946 Z zow g IN V EN TOR.

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47701NEY Patented Mar. 14, 1950 UNITE-D STATES ATNT OFFICE CONTAINER AND CLOSURE MEAN S THEREFOR (Cl. G-Jl) 5' Claims; l

My invention relatesto closures for containers and particularly to closures for ice. loags'.- rubber hot water bags, and similar containers which require a waterproof seal.

Closures for containers of. this nature have been formed in various ways, but when the opening in the bag orl container ismade sufficiently large: to receive ice cubesor relatively large lumps of: ice it is cliflicult to seal the opening effectively. Efforts have been made to overcome this difculty by providing the container with a thickened por tion about the mouth of the opening with comple-- mentary zig-zag or tongue and groove. surfaces to form a seal. However, evensuch constructions are ineffective to prevent leakage. unless they are pressed .together with .considerable force.

In accordance with my invention these objec tions to construtcions of the prior art are overcome and a-simple and leakproof closureprovided which serves to insure the4 application. of. sufliicient pressure to the closure adjacent thefrnouth thereof to prevent leakage. In that form of my invention shown in the drawing, the invention embodies a simple. fastener made up of two parts which cooperate with each other in urging the surfaces of the container about the aperture toward each other so that they are effectively held in a sealing position. The limited number and simplicity of parts renders the closure economical to produce and easy to operate, whereas the clamping device may be removed from .the bag readily to clean and sterilize the parts and recharge the bag.

One of the objects of my invention is to provide an ice bag or the like having. an opening therein with novel means for securely closing said opening.

Another object of my inventionis. to. provide a closure for an ice bag or similar construction which is economical to produce and simple to operate.

A further object of my invention is to provide a novel closure for ice bags whichv serves to urge the surfaces of the bag adjacent a'lling opening into. sealing contact with each other.

A still further object of myv invention is to provide a closure for an ice bagv or ther like whichy is easily attached. to and detached from. such a container.

These and other objects and features of my invention will appear from the following description thereof in which reference is made to the figures of the accompanying drawing.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 isa perspective view of anice bag'show-n ing my invention ready to be fully put in position and secured to the head of the bag;

Fig. 2.is a side elevation of a portion of an ice bag showing myl invention fully in place;

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken along line 3L-3-of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view taken along the line l4of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 5- is a top plan view of the clip portion of my invention with the cover clamp detached.

In that form of my invention illustrated inthe drawing the ice bag or container is formed with a body 2 having ahead or upper portion d which is provided with an elongated opening t through which ice cubes, liquid or other substances or material may bel inserted into the bag. The head is'. formed of relatively thick yieiding material such as rubber and the opening :t is elongated and presents' complementary inner sealing surfaces 8. These. surfaces preferably are of zig-Zag or tongue and groove formation iii to provide a tortuous path through which liquid cannot pass readily when the surfaces 8 are pressed together.

The outer surface of the head i is formed on its opposite sides with grooves I2 which extend parallel to the zig-zag portions it of the inner sealing surfaces 8 of the opening in the head and are located above and below these portions.

The sealing surfaces 8 and portions lil are pressed together and into liquid-tight contact with each other by means of a novel type of closure indicated generally at It. This closure embodies a pressing member Iii which is in the form of a V-Shaped strip of resilient material such as metal or a hardened resinous material.

The arms l8i of the pressing member are formed on their inner surfaces with longitudinally extending inwardly projecting ribs Ell which are positioned to fit into the grooves l2 on the opposite outer faces of the head. ll of the container so that they maybe pressed inward to force the sealn ing surfaces 8 together into water-tight contact with each other.. When clamped in place on the container the grooves i2 and ribs 2i! cooperate to prevent axial displacement or removal of the closure i4 and serve to hold the closure securely in place.

As shown in Fig. 5 the arms lli are preferably inclined at a slight angle with respect to each other when in their normal uncompressed position so that they may be slipped readily into place along the grooves l2' and parallel to the top of the head 4. The portion 22 of the pressing member by which the arms l are connected presents an inner cylindrical surface it which. is complementary in shape to the end 26 of the head of the container but has a radius of curvature slightly less than that of the end 26 so that when the surface 24 is moved into engagement with the end 26 the opposite sides of the head will be pressed together even before the arms IS are forced inward to their clamping positions as shown in Figs. 3 and 4.

The closure also embodies a clamping member 28 which, as shown in Fig. 1, is preferably pivotally connected to the pressing member I6 at 38 near the portion 22 thereof by which the arms I8 are connected. The clamping member presents parallel side walls 32 which are connected at their pivoted end by a rounded portion 34 which is cut away at 36 so that the clamping member may be swung freely upward to the releasing position shown in Fig. 1. The opposite end 38 of the clamping member is rounded and cooperates with the rounded top 4U of the clamping member to hold the side walls in place and to reinforce them against movement when the clamping member is forced downward about the pivots 30 into the clamping position shown in Fig. 2. The inner surfaces 42 of the side walls 32 of the clamping member are substantially smooth and vertical so that as they are moved downward over the arms of the pressing member they serve to force the arms inward from their nomal inclined positions of Fig. 5 to the clamping positions of Fig. 4.

With this constuction the elements of the closure can be formed very readily and economically. The pressing member can be produced by simple stamping operations from sheet stock while the clamping member may be formed by stamping or drawing operations which areeconomiical. The parts are easily assembled by means of the pivot means 30 but if desired they may be produced and used separately by merely forcing the parts into place by hand when closing the container.

In using the construction illustrated, the closure member is removed from the container and the ice cubes or other substances are inserted into the container through the elongated opening 6 in the head 4. The clamping member 28 which forms the cover of the closure is raised from the arms of the pressing member to an inclined position as shown in Fig. 1 for applying the closure to the head 4. The pressing member is then applied to the head by moving one rounded end 26 of the head 4 into the space between the free ends of the arms I8 and into position to align the inwardly projecting ribs on the arms with the outwardly facing grooves I2 on the head. The end 26 is then moved along the arms I8 as it is guided by the cooperating ribs and grooves until it engages the cylindrical surface 24 of the connecting portion 22 of the pressing member.

When so positioned the surface 24 presses the side walls of the head 4 together but the free ends of the arms I8 are still not pressed forcibly against the outer faces of the head and the sealing surfaces 8 and zig-zag portions iil thereof are not in firm water tight contact. However, by forcing the clamping member 28 downward over the free ends of the arms I8 they are forced inward to press the surfaces 8 and il) tightly together and into sealing contact. The pivoted connection of the clamping member with the pressing member serves to cam the arms i8 inward as the clamping member is swung downward. The inner surfaces 42 of the side walls 32 of the clamping member then slide over the outer surfaces of the arms I8 and gradually apply the necessary force to the arms to move the free ends of the arms inwardly so that they compress the material of which the head is formed and urge the surfaces 8 and I0 together and into sealing contact throughout the length of the opening. Leakage of liquid along the surfaces 8 is therefore prevented by reason of the zig-zag or tongue and groove portions I8 of these surfaces.

The compression of the head by means of ribs 28 located above and below the portions l0 improves the sealing effect of these portions. This is particularly true when as shown in Fig. 3 two spaced ribs 20 are provided on each arm I8 and they are formed with surfaces 44 which are inclined so as to compress or extend the material 46 of the head in a vertical direction between the ribs to urge the zig-zag surfaces of portion i8 into better sealing contact. The ribs thus apply pressure to the material of the head in both horizontal and vertical directions and in directions to increase the sealing effect of the zig-zag, tongue and groove or other irregular complementary sealing surfaces about the filling opening of the container.

While I have shown and described one particular form of container closure embodying my invention, and have referred to it as adapted for use on ice bags and similar constructions, it will be apparent that it may be used on other types of containers and the form, arrangement and construction of the elements may be varied considerably without departing from my invention. In View thereof, it should be understood that the construction shown is intended to be illustrative only and is not intended to limit the scope of my invention.

I claim:

1. A container having an elongated head formed of flexible material and provided with an elongated opening therein, guide means on said head extending along opposite outer sides thereof, a closure having a V-shaped pressing member formed from resilient material and provided with a pair of arms connected together at one end and having complementary means thereon engageable with the guide means on the head to position said arms on opposite sides of said head, and a clamping member pivotally connected t0 the pressing member and formed as a cap with substantially parallel opposite side walls movable into positions on the outer sides of said arms and presenting surfaces for engaging the arms on movement relative to the pressing member to a closing position to urge the arms toward each other to compress said iiexible material and close said open- 111g.

2. Acontainer having an elongated head formed of flexible material and provided with an opening therein, sealing means located on the inner face of said opening and presenting intertting sealing surfaces extending parallel to the top of said head, spaced parallel guide means located on the opposite outer surfaces of said head above and below said sealing means, a V-shaped pressing member formed from resilient material and having a pair of arms connected together at one end and spaced apart at their opposite ends and formed with complementary guide means thereon engageable with the guide means on the head to position said arms on opposite sides of the head by relative sliding movement of the container and pressing member in a direction parallel to the top of said head, and clamping means pivotally connected to the connected ends of the pair of arms of the pressing member and present ing inwardly facing substantially parallel surfaces engageable with the outer surfaces of the arms for urging the arms toward each other and against said guide means to press the flexible material of the head together above and below l said sealing means and thereby close said open- ,y

ing.

gated head formed of exible material and pro- 3. A Iclosure for a container which has an elonvided with an opening therein, said closure comprising a pressing member formed of yresilient material and having a pair of arms connected together at one end and inclined outwardly at their unconnected ends, said arms being adapted to be urged toward each other into sealing en-V .elongated head formed of flexible material and 'provided with an opening therein, said closure 'comprising a, pressing member formed of resilient material and having a pair of arms connected together at one end and inclined outwardly at their unconnected ends, said arms being adapted to be urged toward each other into sealf ing engagement with the opposite sides of said 1 head, and a clamping member engageable with "the pressing mem-ber and formed with opposite side walls movable into positions on the outer sides of said arms on movement of the clamping member to a closing position, said side rwalls presenting surfaces engageable with said arms to urge the arms toward each other to compress said exible material and close said opening, said side walls presenting surfaces substantially parallel to each other. v

5. A container having an elongated head formed of exible material and provided with an elongated opening therein, guide means on said head extending along opposite outer sides thereof, a closure having a V-shaped pressing member formed from resilient material and provided with a pair of arms connected together at one end and having complementary means thereon en gageable with the guide means on the head to position said arms on opposite sides of said head, and a clamping member pivotall;T connected to the connected ends of the pair of arms of the pressing member and formed with opposite sube stantially parallel side Walls movable into posi tions on the outer sides of said arms and presenting surfaces for engaging the arms on movement relative to the pressing member to a closing position to urge the arms toward each other to cornpress said flexible material and close said opening.

CHARLES H. KOEPPEL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,371,934 Reynolds Mar. 15, 1921 1,566,867 Hetzer et all. Dec. 22, 1925 1,590,682 Hart June 29, 1926 1,671,385 Strayer May 29, 1928 1,703,712 Aud Feb. 26, 1929 1,837,918 Neves et al. Dec. 22, 1931 2,355,816 Morner Aug. 15, 1944 2,358,653 Mock Sept. 19, 1944 

